Spring is the first season and ushers in warmer weather, longer and sunnier days, rains and showers. During this time of the year, nature seems to "spring to life" ~ certain plants and animals come out of hibernation, flowers bloom, trees and plants grow new leaves, many animals bear their young. Everything seems fresh and new ~ it is a time of birth and rebirth, growth and regrowth, restoration, replenishment and renewal.
However, this revitalization is not limited to the processes taking place in nature during Spring ~ it is also an important conceptual part of the human psyche, signifying spiritual rebirth, including the Christian and pagan associations with death and resurrection.
Spring is also a fertile period during which certain animals mate and seeds of many crops are sown. Hence, Spring has long been considered a sensual period by humans, a time for love and romance ~ as evidenced by the many artistic works and poems, songs, essays that have been produced throughout the ages.
For all of these reasons, ancient and modern cultures around the world have and continue to rejoice the return of Spring, marking and celebrating the occasion with joyful ceremonies and colorful festivals.
Finally, it should be noted that March 21 is the beginning of the western astrological calendar: with the first sign, Aries (ruled by Mars) from 3/21 to 4/19, the second sign, Taurus (ruled by Venus) from 4/20 to 5/20 and the third sign, Gemini (ruled by Mercury) from 5/21 to 6/20.
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| "My Gemini Hearts" by Angelika |
The Heart is, of course, the universal and primary symbol for the concept of Love, whether that be romantic love, familial love, brotherly love, neighborly or community love, love of nature or otherwise. By extension, the Heart also symbolizes emotions ~ the whole Heart, by itself, signifies a positive emotion, while the Heart, represented as two halves, signifies a negative emotion, i.e., a broken heart ~ sadness, sorrow, emotional pain.
On a deeper level, the Heart (sometimes represented in its simplied form as an an inverted triangle) has also long been considered to be at the very center of both the physical and the spiritual being. To that end, the Heart has been closely linked with and symbolizes the Soul, as well as the dwelling place or home of the Divine. This is evidenced by the prominent use of the Heart symbol in various religions, faiths, cults, sects and spiritual societies the world over.
In the Tarot Card divination system, Hearts are often represented as cups, chalices, goblets or vases. This representation is derived from the Heart being considered to be a receptacle of love and spirit. It is also interesting to note that the Heart is the first organ that forms in the human Embryo.
It is no wonder then that the first suit of the Playing (Destiny) Cards divination system should be the Hearts and that the Hearts correspondent to the first season of the year, Spring. The connections are immediately obvious.
Individuals born on a date to which one of the cards of the Heart suit is assigned are, within the system, generally considered to be the youngsters (the "Young at Heart") of the deck, with a novel, original and fresh perspective on the different aspects of life. These individuals may have a certain innocence and vulnerability about them and are usually sensitive, caring, affectionate, loving, loyal and attentive. They tend to be idealistic, intuitive, creative, clever and artistic. They express themselves principally through powerful emotions which they may, at times need to learn to control, lest they suffer from extreme selfishness, self-centeredness, envy and jealousy, antipathy and other such negative and destructive emotions.
In a Playing (Destiny) Card spread, whenever a card of the Hearts suit appears, it usually signifies love, romance, affairs, emotions/feelings, associations/dealings with others, relationships of all types (spouses, lovers, friends, family members, partners, co-workers, etc.) and/or certain matters/events relating to love, romance, associations and relationships.
Although the suit of a particular card gives us, in at of itself, lots of information about an individual or a particular situation, there are other important components in the Playing (Destiny Card) system that must also be considered in reading the cards, such as the number of the card. These topics will be covered in future posts.
In Love & Light,
Angelika
Related Articles:
The Playing (Destiny) Card System and the Calendar
Playing (Destiny) Cards - Suits and Seasons
